Sky News - Rory Stewart resigns for the Conservative Party and will not stand at the general election.
I don't dislike Rory Stewart but how can you go from being a Tory prime ministerial candidate to resignation within a couple of months!?
It's nearly as bizarre as Sam Gymiah travelling from prospective Tory PM to Lib Dems in half that time?!
It says more about their personal narcissistic ambitions than any great love for the party that made them.
The party did not make Stewart they were lucky to get him
I liked Rory but there must be plenty of people now delighted they didn't back his leadership campaign given he's ducked out of politics, sometimes you have to stick things out when they don't go your way rather than run away (see also D Miliband). That is one thing I would give Mr Corbyn credit for during the Blair and Brown years.
Agree with this. He wanted to be prime minister, and when that became unlikely, decided to quit. Same with David Miliband really.
He was thrown out the parliamentary party for voting with his conscience on an issue which affects us all. Like thousands of other MPs over the last several centuries.
It was Johnson's moronic and myopic decision to withdraw the whip that has led to this, combined with the cowardice of the remaining MPs.
Sky News - Rory Stewart resigns for the Conservative Party and will not stand at the general election.
I don't dislike Rory Stewart but how can you go from being a Tory prime ministerial candidate to resignation within a couple of months!?
It's nearly as bizarre as Sam Gymiah travelling from prospective Tory PM to Lib Dems in half that time?!
It says more about their personal narcissistic ambitions than any great love for the party that made them.
The party did not make Stewart they were lucky to get him
I liked Rory but there must be plenty of people now delighted they didn't back his leadership campaign given he's ducked out of politics, sometimes you have to stick things out when they don't go your way rather than run away (see also D Miliband). That is one thing I would give Mr Corbyn credit for during the Blair and Brown years.
Agree with this. He wanted to be prime minister, and when that became unlikely, decided to quit. Same with David Miliband really.
Although I dont think Rory will ever be the king over water, but other than that, yep!
More like he has been actually thrown out of his own party and sees no future in another one in his beloved Penrith seat.
When the PM is throwing people like Stewart out of the party, then the party is over. Finished. We are witnessing its end.
As Ferdinand Mount wrote a few months ago - it is a hollow man party.
Maybe Jake Berry is just trying to get ahead of the crowd, Kippers are standard now. The hardcore need to go further to stand out.
"Britain First" is what Jo Cox's killer shouted as he murdered her. If this is true then Berry should have the whip withdrawn. Assuming it happened, it is a plain expression of support for fascism and terrorism from the Tory front bench.
Maybe Jake Berry is just trying to get ahead of the crowd, Kippers are standard now. The hardcore need to go further to stand out.
"Britain First" is what Jo Cox's killer shouted as he murdered her. If this is true then Berry should have the whip withdrawn. Assuming it happened, it is a plain expression of support for fascism and terrorism from the Tory front bench.
In fairness to the guy how else are you supposed to stand out in a party dominated by the ERG, Johnson kicks people out who go the other direction.
I agree the questions are a little leading, but they highlight a problem for the government with its People (ie Johnson) versus MPs rhetoric. It depends on those MPs to get Brexit through without a second referendum.
Not just that, but the whole strategy is built around a pre-brexit election, and backfires hilariously if the opposition have the presence if mind to do a GNU.
Him: BACK ME OR LOSE THE WHIP Them: Guess we're on the opposition side now ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Him: GET BREXIT DONE Them: OK, you couldn't so it so we will
Him: THE PEOPLE DECIDE NOT PARLIAMENT Them: Referendum it is then
Nah I think a second referendum works fine for the Tories provided it's in no way orchestrated by them (I don't think it has the numbers still). See the SNP.
If we leave with no deal on 31 October the MPs who voted for the Benn Act will bear much of the responsibility. As the clock ticks down the EU would be trying much harder to get a deal done now if the Benn Act did not exist.
That’s right. If we leave with No Deal the people to blame will be those who fought tooth & nail against leaving with No Deal.
Sky News - Rory Stewart resigns for the Conservative Party and will not stand at the general election.
I don't dislike Rory Stewart but how can you go from being a Tory prime ministerial candidate to resignation within a couple of months!?
It's nearly as bizarre as Sam Gymiah travelling from prospective Tory PM to Lib Dems in half that time?!
It says more about their personal narcissistic ambitions than any great love for the party that made them.
The party did not make Stewart they were lucky to get him
I liked Rory but there must be plenty of people now delighted they didn't back his leadership campaign given he's ducked out of politics, sometimes you have to stick things out when they don't go your way rather than run away (see also D Miliband). That is one thing I would give Mr Corbyn credit for during the Blair and Brown years.
Agree with this. He wanted to be prime minister, and when that became unlikely, decided to quit. Same with David Miliband really.
Although I dont think Rory will ever be the king over water, but other than that, yep!
More like he has been actually thrown out of his own party and sees no future in another one in his beloved Penrith seat.
When the PM is throwing people like Stewart out of the party, then the party is over. Finished. We are witnessing its end.
As Ferdinand Mount wrote a few months ago - it is a hollow man party.
If the Labour party can survive infiltration and take over by marxists and anti semites I think the Tories will survive Rory Stewart quitting it.
More like he has been actually thrown out of his own party and sees no future in another one in his beloved Penrith seat.
When the PM is throwing people like Stewart out of the party, then the party is over. Finished. We are witnessing its end.
As Ferdinand Mount wrote a few months ago - it is a hollow man party.
It it mildly suprising, but sadly only mildly, to see Tories cheering on a factional takeover, the very thing they lambast the Labour Party for. They've learnt absolutely nothing from observing Corbyn, and Trump.
How strongly will Corbyn whip his party against the Boris deal? It seems now that its not really in his interest to let Boris get a victory, and could whip very strongly against. In that scenario, will those like Nandy Snell and Smeeth still hold out and vote for it, they could face deselection if so.
The only MP Corbyn has actually thrown out of the party is Fiona who went to prison, the local members could deselect them for it (or they might not) but I can't see Corbyn actually doing it. Some MPs seem to be voting for Brexit with little/limited grief, although it helps not to go as far as Hoey, mainly those in leave areas.
TBH I quite like Nandy so I wouldn't deselect her for it although I wouldn't be delighted with it but maybe I am a bit less hardline than others on this. Although I feel like some of the pro EU lot* can sound more deselection happy than the craziest Corbynista when it comes to the subject.
*Not directed at you
Academic, surely. Is there going to be a Boris Deal to vote on?
The Hungarian wildcard is underestimated, though. What else could explain Boris's extraordinary confidence about 31st October?
The anglophile Hungarian foreign minister was quite impressive on Newsnight y'day.
I do wonder whether Boris/Cummings have had something stiched up with Hungary for weeks.
Given the foreign minister thinks no deal would be a disaster how does that work with vetoing an extension .
This Hungary veto isn’t happening no matter how hard some Leavers would hope for it.
Orban is not going to pick a fight over this with the EU.
No extension does not lead to No Deal - that has always been a non-starter. It doesn't lead to Revoke either - MPs haven't got the balls. It leads in fact to the withdrawal agreement, which Boris wil shamelessly hail as a triumph. No crash out. No disaster. No more going round in circles.
Yes but as we've seen FTPA means we could go many more months or even years without the Opposition agreeing to a general election and at some point the political dial has got to be reset.
How strongly will Corbyn whip his party against the Boris deal? It seems now that its not really in his interest to let Boris get a victory, and could whip very strongly against. In that scenario, will those like Nandy Snell and Smeeth still hold out and vote for it, they could face deselection if so.
The only MP Corbyn has actually thrown out of the party is Fiona who went to prison, the local members could deselect them for it (or they might not) but I can't see Corbyn actually doing it. Some MPs seem to be voting for Brexit with little/limited grief, although it helps not to go as far as Hoey, mainly those in leave areas.
TBH I quite like Nandy so I wouldn't deselect her for it although I wouldn't be delighted with it but maybe I am a bit less hardline than others on this. Although I feel like some of the pro EU lot* can sound more deselection happy than the craziest Corbynista when it comes to the subject.
*Not directed at you
Academic, surely. Is there going to be a Boris Deal to vote on?
The Hungarian wildcard is underestimated, though. What else could explain Boris's extraordinary confidence about 31st October?
The anglophile Hungarian foreign minister was quite impressive on Newsnight y'day.
I do wonder whether Boris/Cummings have had something stiched up with Hungary for weeks.
Given the foreign minister thinks no deal would be a disaster how does that work with vetoing an extension .
This Hungary veto isn’t happening no matter how hard some Leavers would hope for it.
Orban is not going to pick a fight over this with the EU.
No extension does not lead to No Deal - that has always been a non-starter. It doesn't lead to Revoke either - MPs haven't got the balls. It leads in fact to the withdrawal agreement, which Boris wil shamelessly hail as a triumph. No crash out. No disaster. No more going round in circles.
I would love for you to be right but I lack your confidence. It would be a great outcome.
agreed, Bailey had no chance. No one saw this coming, I think he will hoover up a tonne of 2nd preference votes in such partisan times. I would possibly vote for him as think he'd be a good Mayor of London but a bad Tory PM.
What happened to Rory starting a new political party and becoming the UKs Macron?
For all their seeming ineptness our main red/blue political leaders (May, Johnson, Corbyn) have been far more astute and not created the sort of gap Hamon, Juppe and Fillon did.
So the apparent hostile reception and "heckling" Gove received at the German embassy last night came from one man - Ben Bradshaw.
Who then promptly tweeted the heckling claims!
Sounds a bit like the stand up row Boris was supposed to have had with Jess Phillips in the voting lobby the other day which in the end amounted to little more than Boris breathing...
Both of these are good examples of why Twitter has become so toxic to the political discourse.
The Queens Speech is all about running the clock down and forcing a vote which whilst not explicitly a vote of confidence in the Gov't is as close as you can get in the realms of the FTPA.
Early flounce from Rory - it really was all about him.
You think Rory should stand and split the Tory vote in order to qualify for the parliamentary payoff for defeated MPs? It's a view crap spin line from Number 10.
If 90+% of his colleagues prefer Boris over Rory then he’s unlikely to be the Messiah.
That says more about the current state of the Tory party than it does about Rory Stewart
So the apparent hostile reception and "heckling" Gove received at the German embassy last night came from one man - Ben Bradshaw.
Who then promptly tweeted the heckling claims!
Sounds a bit like the stand up row Boris was supposed to have had with Jess Phillips in the voting lobby the other day which in the end amounted to little more than Boris breathing...
Both of these are good examples of why Twitter has become so toxic to the political discourse.
What happened to Rory starting a new political party and becoming the UKs Macron?
For all their seeming ineptness our main red/blue political leaders (May, Johnson, Corbyn) have been far more astute and not created the sort of gap Hamon, Juppe and Fillon did.
That's probably true now, but I think our politics will become more polarised and may therefore create such a gap. Of course that doesn't mean the gap will be successfully exploited.
Sky News - Rory Stewart resigns for the Conservative Party and will not stand at the general election.
Another half decent Tory bites the dust. Even in his wildest dreams as a Bullingdon Boy trashing restaurants Boris could never have dreamt of the destruction he would one day cause. What a guy!
The Queens Speech is all about running the clock down and forcing a vote which whilst not explicitly a vote of confidence in the Gov't is as close as you can get in the realms of the FTPA.
Tactically it's a good move.
Think the idea is:
1 Get deal with EU 17th/18th October.
2. Present to Parliament 19th or 21st October (passes)
3. Vote on Queens speech 21st or 22nd October (fails)
4. General election agreed 22nd or 23rd October for 28th November or 5th December.
Nah I think a second referendum works fine for the Tories provided it's in no way orchestrated by them (I don't think it has the numbers still). See the SNP.
I think that works OK for them long-term but the problem is that if Remain wins, they're going to need policy for the next election. If that policy isn't to ignore the second referendum and enact the first one, or have a third one, they're going to lose a chunk to BXP. But if it is, they lose everybody who's had enough of all this shit.
The SNP doesn't have this problem because there's no Scottish Nationister Party, so they can wait for a decent wave instead of trying to immediately stand up on the surfboard.
Early flounce from Rory - it really was all about him.
You think Rory should stand and split the Tory vote in order to qualify for the parliamentary payoff for defeated MPs? It's a view crap spin line from Number 10.
If 90+% of his colleagues prefer Boris over Rory then he’s unlikely to be the Messiah.
If 100% of Tories think someone is The Messiah, that would be definitive proof that they weren't. The Antichrist otoh..
4-1 instinctively feels too short for Rory the Tory.
I don't think so. A very smart move from him, which we perhaps ought to have seen coming.
It is the one high profile contest in the country where party backing doesn't count for everything. I think if anything he ought to be slightly shorter odds than that.
The same point was made here yonks ago, about both the Queen's Speech and the budget.
I've been saying the same thing. It's an obvious point, really, but an example of an important point that commentators miss because they're so wrapped up in the political narratives.
I will definitely vote for him if he is a candidate.
Who would you have voted for 'but for' Stewart, and what are your likely 2nd and 1st prefs now ?
I think there would be a lot of:
1. Benita 2. Stewart and 1. Stewart 2. Benita
One of them will get into 2nd place on the first count over the Tory. That person will then get first place on transferred votes.
Ahead of Khan ?!
There are deep wells of red voters in London, and Khan doesn't have the anti-Semitism/fence sitting on the EU issues that AN Other Corbynite (Burgon or some such) would face. He's also got incumbency and Londoners seem reasonably happy with him.
4-1 instinctively feels too short for Rory the Tory.
I don't think so. A very smart move from him, which we perhaps ought to have seen coming.
It is the one high profile contest in the country where party backing doesn't count for everything. I think if anything he ought to be slightly shorter odds than that.
You always see these sorts of contests so differently to me !
. Even in his wildest dreams as a Bullingdon Boy trashing restaurants Boris could never have dreamt of the destruction he would one day cause. What a guy!
Johnson is a creep - but he's always been one. Tory activists used to be ideologically misdirected, but at heart well-meaning. They're the ones who've chosen an incontinent, incompetent - and bizarrely inarticulate - liar to run the government.
Comments
It was Johnson's moronic and myopic decision to withdraw the whip that has led to this, combined with the cowardice of the remaining MPs.
When the PM is throwing people like Stewart out of the party, then the party is over. Finished. We are witnessing its end.
As Ferdinand Mount wrote a few months ago - it is a hollow man party.
https://twitter.com/NSoames/status/1180045828871860224
Khan nailed on for reelection now.
Brexit through the looking glass.
Or maybe through the bottom of a glass.
The Leave argument that the act has hampered chances of a deal is yet more guff .
Stewart #1
Bailey #2.
FTPA has changed everything.
Eh?
Went a little weird when he started talking about “love”......
Well he can piss off back to his beloved borders.
https://www.met.police.uk/henriques
Second preference to the Lib Dem candidate.
Who then promptly tweeted the heckling claims!
Both of these are good examples of why Twitter has become so toxic to the political discourse.
Tactically it's a good move.
1 Get deal with EU 17th/18th October.
2. Present to Parliament 19th or 21st October (passes)
3. Vote on Queens speech 21st or 22nd October (fails)
4. General election agreed 22nd or 23rd October for 28th November or 5th December.
1. Benita 2. Stewart
and
1. Stewart 2. Benita
One of them will get into 2nd place on the first count over the Tory.
That person will then get first place on transferred votes.
The SNP doesn't have this problem because there's no Scottish Nationister Party, so they can wait for a decent wave instead of trying to immediately stand up on the surfboard.
Lib Dems look here, Tories look here, Labour look here, SNP look here
A very smart move from him, which we perhaps ought to have seen coming.
It is the one high profile contest in the country where party backing doesn't count for everything.
I think if anything he ought to be slightly shorter odds than that.
There are deep wells of red voters in London, and Khan doesn't have the anti-Semitism/fence sitting on the EU issues that AN Other Corbynite (Burgon or some such) would face. He's also got incumbency and Londoners seem reasonably happy with him.
It does sound strange - but you'll get used to it as it becomes normalised.
Probably thrown away, but one has to try.
The blame lies squarely with them.
That I love London so...